Warren Buffett's Successor, Greg Abel, Purchased Nearly $4.8 Billion of the Oracle of Omaha's Favorite Stock This Year -- and He Likely Just Spent Several Billion More

Greg Abel has deployed roughly $4.8 billion on Berkshire Hathaway share repurchases in the first half of 2026, and the source indicates billions more likely went out the door in Q3. The buying marks a return to aggressive repurchases after a 21-month pause, and it lands on both BRK.A and BRK.B.

The timing matters. Abel stepped up purchases when Berkshire traded at a 40-50% premium to book value. Interpretation: for a company that historically treated buybacks as a value-sensitive tool, buying at that premium suggests Abel sees the shares as worth owning even at a rich multiple to book. That is a read on his behavior, not a stated policy.

Scale puts the move in context. Since mid-2018, Warren Buffett and Abel together have deployed about $82 billion on repurchases. The roughly $4.8 billion spent in six months of 2026 follows nearly two years of no buying at all, so the resumption itself is the signal as much as the dollar amount.

Notably, the piece frames the buyback as Abel buying "the Oracle of Omaha's favorite stock," meaning Berkshire itself. Investors tracking BRK.A and BRK.B now have a live data point on how the successor allocates capital when cash is available and the stock is not cheap by book value.